Features

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Genesis, 1990)

By Nathan Meunier

July 2, 2008 - I'm not entirely sure what went awry in Michael Jackson's brain causing him to want to transform into some sort of alien-human hybrid, but he was pretty cool back in the late 1980s. I have to admit: "Bad" was one of my favorite albums at the time. C'mon, I was seven years old. In any event, it was not long before the odd pop star made his way into his own video game - man, was it sweet. Forget Sonic the Hedgehog! Michael Jackson's Moonwalker was the REAL reason to own a SEGA Genesis.

Eh? What exactly would Michael Jackson DO in his own game? Glad you asked. A drug dealer kidnaps an army of blonde, little girl clones and it's up to Michael to play hide-and-seek, while dance-fighting with a bunch of thugs, zombies, and wild animals. It amounts to a whole lot of running around platform levels, looking for little kids in weird places (like in the trunks of cars, bushes, and closets), and pummeling baddies in oh-so Michael Jackson style.

Every single attack in the game is delivered via one of Michael's signature dance moves. Even better, each move is executed with Michael proclaiming "Wooo!" in a high-pitch voice. For good measure, players can also make him jump on tables and deliver pelvic thrusts, spin around and throw his hat, or even moonwalk. It's awesome. No, really. The game also features rocking 16-bit audio renderings of MJ classics including "Bad," "Billie Jean," "Another Part of Me," "Beat It," and "Smooth Criminal."

Even Bubbles the Chimp makes a guest appearance. He's magically summoned to Michael's shoulder to direct you to the stage's boss, once all the little girls in each level are harvested. It doesn't matter if you're black or white; experiencing 16-bit Michael is a must.